Where they’re heading

Russell Westbrook (AP Photo)

The Thunder will hope to weather the first four-to-six weeks of the season without star guard Russell Westbrook, who injured his knee in last year’s postseason and required a second surgery this month to fix the knee. That means Oklahoma City will have somewhere in the range of 15-20 games without Westbrook, which of course, means that forward Kevin Durant will take on an even bigger role than usual. Durant averaged 28.1 points per game last season, but in the playoffs, without Westbrook, he averaged 31.8—that’s at least where he will need to be here in November and early December.

The Thunder will probably need backup guard Reggie Jackson to fill Westbrook’s void, too, and Jackson has shown himself to be a capable scorer and effective pick-and-roll guard. Once they get past the Westbrook problem, though, expect the Thunder to rejoin the ranks of the West elite, with the tandem of Durant and Westbrook bolstered by shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (41.9 percent on 3s last year), Serge Ibaka (career-high 13.2 points per game) and defensive stalwart Kendrick Perkins inside.

Where they’ve been

The ghost of the James Harden trade—which took place two summers ago—still looms over this organization. The Thunder could not afford to keep Harden without paying a luxury tax, but Oklahoma City was unable to find a guy who can allow Westbrook to play off the ball and excel in the pick-and-roll the way Harden does.

The team did get a boost from guard Kevin Martin last year, who filled in Harden’s scoring void and spread the floor with his shooting ability. But Martin signed on in Minnesota last summer, leaving the Thunder to take another crack at replacing Harden’s output. When Westbrook returns, Jackson is the most logical candidate, having averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the playoffs last year.

Introducing … Jeremy Lamb

When the Thunder made the trade with Houston, it appeared that they acquired a pair of players to help them through the process of replacing Harden. First was Martin, and the fact that he is no longer with the team is not a surprise. That’s because it looked from the beginning like Jeremy Lamb—then a rookie in Houston—would be the Thunder’s long-term solution for off-the-bench scoring.

Lamb was the 12th pick in the 2012 draft, a highly regarded scorer out of UConn who has versatility and potential. But whether Lamb has the range to handle the NBA game is an open question. He was solid from the 3-point line as a college freshman three years ago, making 36.8 percent, but struggled as a sophomore, when he was the focus of defenses and slumped to 33.6 percent. He only took 30 3-pointers as a rookie last year, making just nine of them, and the preseason has not been encouraging. Lamb has shot 16.7 percent from the arc.

Numbers game

Durant not only excels as a scorer and passer, but he has gotten very good at nearly eliminating his mistakes and bad shots. In all, Durant averaged 1.098 points per possession last year, according to Synergy Sports, which ranked him second in efficiency behind LeBron James (1.119) among players with 1,000 total possessions.

While Durant has consistently been considered the NBA’s No. 1A player to James’ No. 1, it is worth considering that Durant must carry a heavier burden for his team. Durant led the league in possessions last year, with 2,236, well ahead of the No. 2 player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. James came in with 1,808 possessions. On a per-game basis, that means 27.6 possessions run through Durant, while 23.8 run through James in Miami.